Despite a fair amount of new construction in the downtown and uptown areas, it is clear that the city is still in need of much more affordable housing. The current financial incentives to builders in the form of tax rebates have yielded some results, but more is needed. The city should adopt the approach taken in Redmond, and create an inclusionary zoning rule. (“Is requiring new apartments to include affordable units the right move for Vancouver?” The Columbian, Dec. 9).
The rule should require that new housing have at least 10 percent of the units to be “affordable,” which should be redefined at 60 percent of the median income in the area.
While safety zones like the one recently put downtown along Evergreen and Esther are helpful, we are only going to make a real dent in our homeless population rise by getting more housing that nonaffluent people can afford. The city council should reexamine its current housing policies and create an “inclusionary zoning” requirement for new apartments.
